Luckily it was ahead of T20 World Cup: Knight after Sri Lanka loss

England captain Heather Knight was left disappointed after they suffered a shock 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in their final T20 World Cup warm-up game on Tuesday (February 18).

Batting first, England were restricted to below-par 122/9 in 20 overs, thanks to Lanka off-spinner Shashikala Siriwardene’s four wickets for 22 runs. In reply, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Atapattu hit an unbeaten 78 in to seal victory inside 13 overs in Adelaide.

“It was a disappointing performance, but I’d rather we got it out of the way ahead of the World Cup,” said Heather Knight after the game. “Their spinners bowled well and drove it into the pitch and we probably didn’t adapt to that quick enough, and when you add in a few run-outs it gets more difficult. Chamari batted really well for Sri Lanka and she just took the game away from us. It might give us a little kick up the backside, which might not be a bad thing.”

England were without all-rounder Natalie Sciver, who has a medial ligament injury to her right knee and was not risked at the Karen Rolton Oval, but is expected to be fit for their first World Cup game against South Africa at the Waca in Perth on Sunday (February 23).